TITLE 15

Elections

General Elections

CHAPTER 50A. ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS

§ 5000A Use in lieu of voting machines.

In any general, special or primary elections, an electronic voting system may alternatively be used in lieu of a voting machine as required by Chapter 50 of this title so long as the voting system complies with the requirements of this chapter.

(a) Any electronic voting system may be adopted, purchased or used which shall be so constructed as to fulfill the following requirements:

(1) Each voting device shall have a serial number permanently attached to or stamped to the device;

(2) It shall secure to the voter secrecy in the act of voting for or against as many questions as may be submitted;

(3) It shall permit the voter to vote for the candidates of 1 or more parties, or to write in the name or candidate of the voter's choice for any office;

(4) It shall permit the voter to vote for as many persons for an office as the voter is lawfully entitled to vote for, and the automatic tabulating equipment used in such electronic voting systems shall reject choices recorded on any ballot card or any voting device if the number of such choices exceeds the number to which a voter is entitled;

(5) It shall prevent the voter from voting for the same person more than once for the same office;

(6) It shall permit the voter to vote for or against any question the voter may have the right to vote upon, but no other;

(7) It shall permit each voter in primary elections to vote only for the candidates of the party with which the voter has declared that voter's own affiliation, and preclude the voter from voting for any candidate seeking nomination by any other political party;

(8) It shall correctly record and accurately count all votes cast for any and all candidates of a political party, and for or against any and all questions, and correctly record the names of all candidates written in by votes;

(9) It shall be provided with means for sealing the vote recording devices to prevent its use and to prevent tampering with ballot labels, both before and after the polls are open or before the operation of the vote recording device for any election is begun and immediately after the polls are closed or after the operation of the vote recording device for an election is completed;

(10) If individual paper ballots are used, the paper ballot shall include a serialized stub number for each ballot issued to a voter to be retained by the poll worker which will show at all times during any election a total number of persons who have voted.

(11) It shall be so equipped that it shall prevent the voter from voting for all the candidates of 1 party by the use of a single mark, punch or other action; however, it shall be provided with a device or method for each party, for voting for all presidential electors of that party by 1 mark, punch or other action.

(b) Every voting device or booth shall be provided with a means of providing sufficient light to enable voters while in the voting booth to read the ballots or ballot labels. All voting devices used in any election shall be provided with side curtains and front shield to insure that no person can see or know for whom any voter has voted or is voting.

Before any electronic voting system is purchased, rented or otherwise acquired, or used, the person owning or manufacturing such voting device must give an adequate guarantee in writing and post a bond accompanied by satisfactory surety with the State Election Commissioner guaranteeing and securing that such voting devices comply fully with the requirements contained in § 5001A of this title and will correctly and accurately record every vote cast and further guaranteeing such voting device against defects in labor and materials for a period of 5 years from the date of acquisition thereof, or, in the case of rented voting devices, for the period of rental.

§ 5003A Use of voting devices; costs in municipal elections [Effective until July 1, 2015]

Electronic voting devices may be used throughout this State in all primary, general and special elections and in all municipal elections in all incorporated cities and towns of this State. In the event no contest exists, in municipal elections voting devices shall not be required. Voting devices may be used in elections held under Title 14. Incorporated cities or towns may use voting devices in the custody of the department of elections of the same county upon payment of all costs and expenses incident to their use.

Electronic voting devices may be used throughout this State in all primary, general and special elections and in all municipal elections in all incorporated cities and towns of this State. In the event no contest exists, in municipal elections voting devices shall not be required. Voting devices may be used in elections held under Title 14. Incorporated cities or towns may use voting devices in the custody of the Department upon payment of all costs and expenses incident to their use.

(a) In general elections, the polling place for every election district shall be supplied with at least 1 voting machine for every 600 registered voters or majority fraction thereof.

(b) In primary and special elections, the polling place for every primary voting district or election district shall be provided with at least 1 voting machine for every 750 registered voters or majority fraction thereof.

§ 5005A Printing of ballots; distribution of ballots [Effective until July 1, 2015]

(a) Ballots shall be printed in black ink on white material of such size as will fit the ballot frame used for all elections and shall be secured in the ballot frame to make tampering or removal difficult.

(b) The party emblem which has been duly adopted by such party in accordance with law and the party name or other designation for each political party represented on the voting device shall appear on the ballot if space and layout permits.

(c) Official ballots for voting devices shall be prepared and furnished by the department for each county in the same manner as provided by law.

(d) Nothing in this section shall preclude the use of an electronic device where the ballot is electronically generated and displayed or which has the capability to generate and display multiple ballots.

(a) Ballots shall be printed in black ink on white material of such size as will fit the ballot frame used for all elections and shall be secured in the ballot frame to make tampering or removal difficult.

(b) The party emblem which has been duly adopted by such party in accordance with law and the party name or other designation for each political party represented on the voting device shall appear on the ballot if space and layout permits.

(c) Official ballots for voting devices shall be prepared and furnished by the Department in the same manner as provided by law.

(d) Nothing in this section shall preclude the use of an electronic device where the ballot is electronically generated and displayed or which has the capability to generate and display multiple ballots.

If the official ballots for an election district are not delivered in time for use on election day or after delivery shall be lost, destroyed or stolen, the department shall cause other ballots to be prepared, printed or written as nearly as may be of the form and description of the official ballots, and the department shall cause the ballots so substituted to be used at the election in the same manner, as nearly as may be, as the official ballots would have been.

(a) The department of elections shall cause sufficient voting devices to be delivered to the proper polling places prior to the time appointed for the election officers to report for duty. The Department shall certify that each device to be used in an election has been properly prepared and inspected.

(b) The Department shall mail written notices to the State Chairperson of each party with candidates listed on the ballot, stating the time and place at which the voting device will be inspected. The State Chairperson of each such political party may designate one representative to be present during the inspection.

(c) The board of elections shall designate at least 2 representatives of opposite political affiliation, other than the person preparing the devices:

(1) To inspect each device to make certain it is in good working order and that the proper ballot labels have been placed in it;

(2) To examine and/or test each voting position for proper registration;

(3) To certify such inspections and testing upon a record provided by the department.

(d) The Department shall cause all ballot cards, if used by the voting system, to be sealed in a metal transfer carrier and the seal number recorded. Two representatives of the Board of Elections, of opposite political affiliation, shall examine each voting device and insure that each voting device is sealed with the numbered seal as required. They shall:

(1) Certify the numbers on the voting devices and the election districts for which they are designated;

(2) Certify that all voting devices are in proper working condition;

(3) Certify that the voting devices are properly sealed; and

(4) Certify that the correct ballot has been properly secured in the voting device.

(e) The Department shall have the automatic tabulating equipment used in mark sense or punch mark tabulation tested to ascertain that it will accurately count the votes cast for all offices and on all questions. Public notice of the time and place of the test shall be published and a test conducted within 5 days of the election. The tabulating equipment shall pass the same test at the conclusion of the count before the election returns are approved. Two representatives of the Board of Elections, of opposite political affiliation, shall certify that this has been done.

(f) The certification required by this section shall be a public record in the office of the department of elections.

(g) The department shall require that all persons with custody of the voting devices, either for delivery or storage before and after the election, shall insure the voting devices' safety and protection.

If during the conduct of an election a vote recording device becomes inoperative, the election officers shall seal it in such manner as to prevent further voting thereon. The department shall maintain and hold in readiness a reasonable number of extra voting devices to be supplied to election districts where a voting device has become inoperative, and the department shall take reasonable steps to insure rapid delivery in such event.

Side curtains on all voting devices shall be securely fastened before being used in any election. An electronic voting system providing a method of voting absentee utilizing a ballot card may be used for all absentee voting providing it meets all requirements of the law.